HessFest 7: Anniversary Celebration and Charity Fundraiser

Event Information

About HessFest

Last weekend Mike Hess Brewing held its 7th annual Hessfest, their Anniversary Celebration and Charity Fundraiser. Proceeds from ticket sales were used to benefit not one, but two local charities:

This year’s event will benefit two great charities: Next Step Service Dogs and the YMCA of San Diego County. MHB will be donating net proceeds from the event to these two fantastic organizations. Your ticket purchases help us to write this check!

Hess was also holding an early release of their Anniversary Stout (12% with coffee) to all Hessfest 7 attendees, which are now available in their tasting room:

We’ve concocted a special ale for our 7th Anniversary — one you can enjoy now, or lay-up for your own anniversary “or special date.” Inspired by our own multiple award-winning Imperial Stout HessFest 7 showcases what we do best – make great beer, no exceptions. Thanks for a great 7 years, friends.

More Pictures from HessFest 7

HessFest 7 Recap

Neither of us had attended this event before, and we were so glad we finally made it!

HessFest 7 was not overcrowded and provided an excellent value for the ticket cost, especially considering the time available to spend inside the venue. Most festivals are 3 hours and done — this event went from 12:30 to 5pm, giving everyone 4.5 hours to imbibe and socialize. Surprisingly enough, the beer supply held up pretty well too.

The selection of beers all of the participating breweries provided was very well rounded with both hop bombs, and warm weather beers. We definitely appreciated heat beaters like Thorn Foreplay, Mission Saison w/ lemon zest, North Park Beer Company’s Covington Cream Ale, and a new beer to us from El Segundo, Casa Azul Vienna Style Lager.

Nothing was more satisfying in the heat than Council, who had the presence of mind to bring their Prickly Pear Tart Saison, which really hit the spot. On the hops front Thorn came through again with Got Nelson?, while Resident Brewing’s newest release Haze of Thunder may have stole the show entirely.

Of course emphasis is always placed on the beer, but the most key benefit for all attendees was having snacks included. Mike Hess Brewing implemented a punch card system that provided four free small bites of your choosing — no long lines for a food truck out of your own pocket.

Some food vendors marked a punch on the card, while others didn’t care. Food choices were recognizable local brands like Slater’s 50/50, Lucha Libre, The Patio, and Tribute Pizza who was giving away whole slices.

The primary difference between regular GA tickets vs VIP Package was earlier entry, a special taster glass, and unlimited (self-serve!) pours at #VIPSOURFEST. VIP partygoers could sit inside the brewery while sampling a myriad of My Other Vice Berliner Weiss variants created with participating local breweries until 2:30PM.

With the event winding down, we headed inside with the rest of the crowd to pick up our Anniversary Stout and keeper can glasses. The peacock and its plume in the shape of a number 7 made for some killer artwork, and our new favorite Hess glass! At this point, everyone could buy tasters of the aforementioned My Other Vice variants, which we gladly did.

Mike Hess Brewing’s slogan has always been “Great Beer. No Exceptions.”, and they definitely carried that same mantra over into planning their special event.